All man-powered weapons rely on the inherent capability of the weapon to be operationally armed by an individual. Essentially, this means that a single individual must be able to, somehow, reconfigure or manipulate the weapon so that it has sufficient potential energy to effectively launch a projectile. In particular, no chemical reaction, such as the explosion of gun powder, is involved in the operation of a man-powered weapon. Traditionally, man-powered weapons have generally included air-pump guns, slings, blow-guns, bow-and-arrow sets, and crossbows. Of these, the bow-and-arrow and crossbow have clearly been the most versatile and powerful. And, of these, the crossbow is arguably the most powerful. A traditional crossbow, however, has its shortcomings. Most notably, a traditional crossbow is front-end heavy and, consequently, is somewhat difficult to manipulate during hunting.
An important consideration of any man-powered weapon is its mechanical compatibility with the projectile that is to be launched. The follow-on consideration from this involves the efficacy of the projectile itself. Recent studies have indicated that, in a hunting context, the momentum of a projectile is often more important than its velocity. A generalized consequence of this observation is that for an elongated projectile, the center of mass needs to be nearer the front end of the projectile. Further, for improved accuracy, it is preferable that a measure of the location for the center of mass, referred to as the percent Forward of Center (% FOC), be around 25% or greater. Mathematically, where “L” is the length of the projectile's shaft (aft of the broadhead), and where “x” is the distance from the tail end of the projectile to center, the % FOC can be calculated using the expression:% FOC=(x/L−½)100From the above, it then follows that the weapon (i.e. launcher) must effectively accommodate such a projectile.
For purposes of hunting “big game”, or even small game for that matter, silence is a valued capability for a man-powered weapon. More specifically, it is desirable that a man-powered weapon have minimal, if any, report. Equally important is the ability of a hunter (user) to handle and aim the weapon easily and accurately. For a rifle or shotgun, this ability is essentially an inherent characteristic of the weapon. As implied above, with reference to a traditional crossbow, this is not necessarily so for a man-powered weapon.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a man-powered projectile launcher having increased accuracy. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a man-powered launcher that is capable of shooting a projectile with high momentum. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a projectile launcher that is rugged and relatively noiseless, i.e. it has good mechanical and acoustic containment. A further object of the present invention is to provide a projectile launcher that is relatively simple to manufacture, is easy to use, and is comparatively cost effective.